


Savior

by paintpot



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Gen, Sad Indominus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-04-06 09:09:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 17,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4215903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintpot/pseuds/paintpot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Owen rescues the Indominus before she goes crazy. Otherwise known as the obligatory redeem-the-monster fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> Partly for datoldnolasoul, whose comments inspired this, and partly for me because I'm a rotten bleeding heart and I needed this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then a Savior comes to her.

She was tired. So very, very tired and hurting and hungry. She snarled feebly as the fleshy creatures stabbed at her with their glowing sticks to prod her along. The creatures made the same sort of happy sounds, the high-pitched barking, as they moved her down the dirt path. She had gotten too large for her to fit into the metal box they had tried to stuff her in, and so she had to be moved like this, under cover of darkness. So alone, and so tired in the darkness. She called out, and one of the creatures stabbed its glowing stick into her side, for longer than normal. She huffed, growling at the pain, and stumbled along as best her bound ankles would let her. The creatures dragged her to a bigger box, one under the open sky, and backed her into a corner before they deigned to remove the ties that hobbled her. She snarled at them, and two of the creatures prodded her with their pain-sticks as the rest of the group fled. She was in no mood to chase them, no matter her hunger, and she instead settled into the strange, soft things that covered the ground. Running her tongue over where the bonds had bitten painfully into her flesh, she gave one of the springy things an experimental nibble before spitting out the thing in disgust. Rousing what was left of her strength - the creatures had given her something that made her tired and weak - she looked around the box for water but found nothing. She settled into the hard ground, missing her soft thing from the small box, from before it had been taken from her, and her ready supply of water and even her weak little brood mate, just for the company she provided. She let out one last sorry little cry from her aching lungs before sleeping.

* * *

She grew in the small box, so big that even the biggest, most aggressive of the creatures no longer dared to enter. She had discovered a small pool of water in one corner of the box, and that every other time the big ball of light that hurt her eyes when she looked at it came up into the air above her some strange thing that wasn’t alive delivered food. She wasted away in her boredom, even when the strange creatures that had hurt her so tossed her brood mate in with her. Her brood mate was just as weak as she had remembered, but she was glad for the company. She called out into the open less now that she had something to stay with her. The creatures watched her grow from behind a barrier she could not see but could touch, which confused her greatly and she had to lay down and contemplate it whenever she thought about it.

* * *

She was hurting. All over, every part of her ached. Her brood mate was gone, eaten after her weakness had finally taken her feeble life. The creatures had surrounded her, backed her into a corner of the enclosure and hurt her. She cried out as one of the creatures shoved its stick into her belly, not understanding what she had done to make them hurt her. She had cooperated, she had done what she could to be unobtrusive and quiet. She had stopped calling out during the time the brighter ball of light was visible. She ate what she was given, when it was given to her, and she didn’t understand what she had done wrong. Hurting, so much hurting. All alone, and so much hurting.

* * *

And then the source of pain was gone. She flinched back, half expecting the creatures to continue to hurt her when she wasn’t prepared, but they had all been pushed from her. Violently. One more had appeared, this one different than the rest, and it was making angry noises, keeping the others far away. She dragged herself closer to the barrier of her box, and shied away from the new creature. This one was upset, she could hear the inflections in its vocalizations, though she couldn’t understand what was upsetting it. She pushed forward, mustering up her courage, the last reserves of her strength, and nudged its leg with her nose. The creature stopped making the angry sounds, and looked down at her with something unreadable in its eyes. She pulled back, suddenly hesitant, and it came down to the ground, folding its limbs underneath it as it reached for her muzzle. She gave a short whine, but all the creature did was lay a gentle hand on her. She was confused, and therefore she was frightened. The creature was making noises again, though less angry now, and more of a strange feeling somewhere between sadness and anger. She didn’t know what to call it, though she took some comfort from the fact it wasn’t directed at her. She pushed her nose into the creature’s strange front paw, and the creature began to gently rub her muzzle. She cooed, the feeling unfamiliar, but wonderful all the same. The creature laid itself down next to her, barely the size of her head, but it radiated strength, and promises of protection. She sniffed at it, something inside her understanding that this wasn’t prey, not like the pitiful little creatures who were so cruel. This was an Alpha. Another sniff. A male Alpha. She pushed her head closer to his, and the Alpha looked back at the others, not making any sort of sound. The others began to back away, and when one stepped forward again she lifted her head and roared, channeling all her pain and rage. The creature fled, leaving behind the stench of waste. The Alpha gave a sort of barking, happy sound. Did that mean she had done something right? She bumped her nose against his chest. The Alpha looked back at her and then nuzzled her. She was so very happy, safe and protected, and so she slept.


	2. Hello, Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And she steps into the open.

The Alpha was offering her something. It smelled strange, not like the flesh she had been fed previously, and she huffed at it, the rush of air blowing back the Alpha’s hair. The Alpha gave that funny sort of huffing sound that meant he was happy, and he reached forward to pat her muzzle. She bumped his hand and then carefully accepted the offered morsel. It was good - sweet, even. She thought for a moment and then decided that she liked it when she didn’t vomit after. She remembered the other flesh creatures giving her things that made her sick right after and she laid her head down onto a soft patch of dirt. The Alpha rubbed her nose, and she licked his paw, tasting salt and dirt and the remnants of the tiny nibble. He made that strange expression where he opened his mouth and the corners went up, that meant he was happy. She huffed again, pushing into him. Another one of the creatures came inside her box, and she froze, gazing at the new creature with suspicion and no small amount of fear. The Alpha glanced behind him and continued to stroke her nose, making soft, reassuring sounds. She wriggled backwards as the new creature approached, nestling into the undergrowth, eyes darting back and forth between the Alpha and the new creature. The Alpha waved his paw at the creature, and it stopped short. She bumped against the Alpha’s leg as he stood up and backed the creature away from her. The Alpha made more sounds, meeting her eyes, and then pushed the new creature away from her and out the exit and out of sight.

* * *

She waited for the Alpha to come back. He hadn’t shut the exit to her box, and so he would be coming back, sometime, she was sure. And so she waited. And waited. And waited. The Alpha hadn’t come back yet, and she was getting just a tiny bit anxious. He hadn’t done the thing he always did before he left at the end of the sun-time. Was he coming? She wasn’t sure anymore, and so she finally decided to get up and look. She glanced around, not seeing anything around her that would impede her attempt, and rose from the dirt to quietly sneak out the exit. The outside of her box was just the same as she remembered, though it lacked the creatures from her first time out. Had that been just for moving her from the first box from her early time? She sniffed, catching the faint scent of her Alpha. He had been gone for a while, then. She followed the scent down the dirt way, and made it into an area covered in the same type of growth that covered the floor of her enclosure. Her Alpha’s scent was growing fainter, caught up in a thousand new scents that clogged her nose. She huffed, shaking her head, and then heard something rustle in the bush beside her. She glanced down and saw a funny little creature, built like her but teeny in comparison. The thing chirped. **Hello?**

She cocked her head in confusion, and leaned down to sniff it. It smelled faintly of her Alpha, and she licked it. The thing gave a funny little cry and skittered away from her, and she backed up, shuffling her toes in the dirt. The creature approached her again, head cocked in curiosity. **Hello?** She was nervous, and frightened, backing against one of the tall sort of plant. **Noharm-friendly-hello?** The new creature stopped short, just out of reach, and she laid herself down in the dirt, blinking as the creature copied her. She gave a short vocalization, and the creature did the same. Again, she gave a sound, and again the creature responded. **Play?** She was confused.

_Whatisplay?_

The creature scampered up, and darted over to where one of the tall things had fallen across the dirt. **Follow-playchase-friend?** She approached the small creature, and it backed up.

_Comeback?_

**Playchase-running-following?** And the answer came to her. The little thing wanted her to catch it. Wanting to make her new companion happy, some deep ache inside her soothed by its company, she ran after the little creature. It was surprisingly fast for having such tiny legs, and she gave a happy vocalization as she chased it. The little creature led her past more of the tall things and the underbrush below, up and down dirt piles and around in circles until they came to rest, panting, next to a funny sort of moving water. She glanced at her new friend, and the creature wandered forward to dip her muzzle in. **Goodfordrinking-share?** She came forward, unsure of this new thing, something in the back of her head warning her to be cautious. Her new friend nudged her playfully and she dipped her own muzzle in. The water was cool and tasted sweet, and she drank deeply, though she kept an eye out for any signs of movement. She stopped as something under the water shimmered, and she backed up, gazing at the spot suspiciously. Her friend made a curious vocalization, and she narrowed her eyes at the spot. Was there something there? She couldn’t tell, and so she backed up. Just then, a small thing ran towards the water and something big launched itself up onto the bank to close its jaws around the thing. She gave a huff of surprise as the big water thing dragged its meal back into the water. The cries of the small thing vanished, and she glanced at her friend, who blinked at her. **Newthing-neverhappenedbefore-oops?** She huffed, and nudged her friend, who blinked once and then ran off with a happy sort of cry. She shook her head and followed along.


	3. Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything around her was so new.

Her friend was chasing after a group of colorful flying things, tiny and new. She spun around in the dirt, everything so wonderful and exciting, color all around her, a welcome change from green and brown and grey. One landed on her nose and she stopped short, crossing her eyes to see the thing. It waved a pair of long, thin things attached to its head and she sneezed at the feeling. The thing flew away, the last of its group to go, and she watched it fly into the blue above and disappear from sight. Her friend came up to her and bumped her nose against her leg.

 **Youarewell?** She looked down and the smaller gave the huffing vocalization that meant her companion wanted to be followed, and so she did what was wanted of her and followed along, too entranced by the exquisite newness around her to put up an argument. Her friend led her over to a metal wall with holes in it, and she stopped short, scuffling in the dirt as she examined the new thing. The smaller stopped and glanced back, and she nudged the wall with her nose.

 _Ouch_. She yanked her nose away, licking at her singed nose, and huffed at the wall. Her friend gave a curious vocalization, and nudged the wall herself. Nothing happened. The pair gazed at the wall and then turned away. The smaller nudged her and gave another sound before darting away. She was up in a moment and chasing her friend. Back into the underbrush they went, over hills and around boulders and past lots and lots of the tall living things, and eventually the smaller led them to a large stone box. She stopped short, and regarded the box with curiosity. It was less a box, it wasn’t shaped like any box she had seen before, and it was larger than anything she had ever been in, save perhaps the first big box she had seen when she was being moved from her hatching space to her last box. Poking her nose into a large hole in the box, she found two funny things that didn’t move when she nudged them. Her friend nudged her again, and she followed the smaller through a large hole into the box. She smelled decay, and she sneezed at the dust. Her friend led her through into a larger space, but still inside the box, and she leaned down to investigate the mess on the floor. Some sort of cloth, and things that looked like bones but tasted terrible when she licked them. She snorted, breathed in dust, and stumbled out the doors with a crash, sneezing furiously. Her companion trotted after her and bumped the side of her head where she lay in the dirt. She sneezed one more time, and then stood up, glancing back up at the structure before wandering off into the undergrowth, following her nose.

Her companion stayed by her for a while, until she poked her nose into the air and ran off. She was confused for a moment, and then followed the sounds of the smaller until she arrived in a clearing. Her friend had found a group of other creatures, funny big things with balls on their tails and spikes on their backs. Her friend snarled at them, and the group squished together. She watched in interest as her friend launched herself at them, biting at it’s head and staying away from the tail. The creature leaned its head back, and her friend closed her jaws around its vulnerable throat. The creature gave a muffled cry, and collapsed onto its side. Her friend retreated, and nudged her leg. She cocked her head, confused, and her friend went forward to bite again at the beast before backing up once more. She blinked, comprehension suddenly dawning, and she moved forward to finish it off. The beast whined, and she moved to the head, biting down, feeling something crunch between her jaws. It struggled, and then stilled, and she moved to its belly and buried her muzzle in.

It was fresh, and she gorged, tunneling her way through until she hit something hard on the other side. She pulled back, and contemplated the corpse. Her companion was waiting patiently beside her, and she reached in with one of her front limbs and curled her claws around the obstruction. The thing was blinking silently, and she nudged it. Nothing happened. She licked it then, and beyond the taste of blood there was something metallic to it. She tossed it away and then contemplated when the fleshy creatures had forced something much the same into her own back. She reached back, and felt for the lump, digging her claws in and dragging out another one of the blinking things. She sniffed it and then tossed it away just the same. Her companion nudged her and motioned toward the corpse. She took two more gulps, and then settled down. The smaller then fed on the remainder and she waited patiently until her companion was done. Her friend pulled back and looked up at her, licking the blood from her muzzle, and then led her off again. They hadn’t gone far when the wind shifted and she scented more of the fleshy creatures, her blood running colder within her, memories of pain and fear surfacing. She whimpered, and looked at her companion, who nudged her leg before leading her away, back toward the moving water. The two drank again, and she rinsed her muzzle off, following her friend’s example. Her friend looked up at the darkening sky above and moved away from the water, and she moved, too, something inside telling her not to stray too far from her friend. Her friend huffed, and laid down in a pile of leaves, and she used her front claws to make a mound of dirt to rest her jaw on before she, too, closed her eyes. Something called out in the distance, and she glanced over at her companion for reference. The smaller only opened a sleepy eye before huffing and drifting off again. She shifted her bulk so it settled into a natural dip in the ground and slept.


	4. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's in so much trouble.

“Let us start from the beginning, Mr. Grady. First of all, you…?”

“I went into the Indominus paddock without the proper precautions.”

“And?” 

“And I committed assault and battery.”

“And?”

“And gave you a legal headache and owe you a bunch of favors.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t secure the raptors properly.”

“And?”

  “And I forgot to check the fencing on their enclosure.”

“We give you a lot of leeway with the raptors, Mr. Grady. Don’t forget we can revoke it just as easily.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Keep going. What else did you do?”

“I didn’t close the door behind me when I left.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t make sure the Indominus was inside when I did shut it.”

“And?”

“And I still haven’t found all the raptors.” 

“And?”

“And I still haven’t found the Indominus either.”

“Owen… Owen, what am I going to _do_ with you? Do you have _any idea_ what the press will do to us if this gets out? Not to mention we still have wild carnivores running loose. I’m under no illusions about their level of “tameness” and I don’t want to have to have them put down. If someone gets eaten then that’s what the board will require. I’m trusting you to make sure this gets fixed and then _never happens again_. Can I trust you with this?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, bring me back those dinos, Mr. Grady.”


	5. Contemplation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's tension in the air.

She woke up to the sound of her companion rather sloppily devouring something small and furry. Snorting the dirt from her nose, she stood up, sniffing the crisp morning air, stretching sleep from her limbs and yawning. Her companion cocked her head as something sounded in the distance, before giving a responding cry. She nudged her companion, hoping for some sort of explanation when none was offered, and the smaller glanced at her before running off, calling for her to follow. She blinked once, confused, and then ran after her friend. Her guide stopped, and she skidded after her, blinking, into another clearing. The smaller gave a rumble of explanation. **Packmate-bigsister-newfriends.**

Something akin to a copy of her friend skittered into the clearing opposite, and stopped short, gazing at her with calculating eyes. **_Hello-greetings-introduction?_** The bluer creature offered a rumble. Her friend bumped the back of her leg with her nose, and she stepped forward, contemplating the new arrival.

 _Hello-curiosity-newfriend?_ The new creature carefully stepped up to her and sniffed her. She sniffed back, wary of how the new creature held herself. She would tolerate some posturing but dominance belonged to her Alpha. And considering her Alpha, she remembered the reason she had wandered out in the first place was to track him down. She made a small mental reminder to continue searching for him.

**_Packmate-notfood-smellslikeAlpha._ **

_Alpha?_

**_Strangeplace-barriers-people._ **

_Whatispeople?_ Instead of responding, the blue creature stalked to the edge of their meeting-space before looking back expectantly.

**_Following?_ **

_Followingtowhere?_

**_ToAlpha._** She gave a mild huff in response, slightly irritated at the creature’s behavior, and then they were off, racing through the dense undergrowth, jumping over boulders and skittering down inclines back towards the boundary from the previous day. Her first friend stopped short just at the boundary, and looked at her as she shouldered through the confining, stringy things hanging down. **_Push?_** The blue creature shoved against the thing to demonstrate. She narrowed her eyes, remembering how the last fence had hurt her nose.

 _Whypushing?_ Her guide gave another demonstration.

 ** _LeadingtoAlpha. Alphaonotherside._** She gave a soft sound of reluctant consent and shoved against the barrier, which buckled under her weight with a crash. She looked back at her companions and they chittered in encouragement. ** _Following-stayclose-bequiet._ ** On they went, into a lush valley full of mid-sized, fast creatures, smaller than her but still sizable. The things stopped short, gazing at the trio, radiating fear and curiosity. She stepped forward, nostrils flaring, unsure of whether she was hungry enough to chase one down, before her friend nudged her leg and led her on, staying close to the edge of the valley. Something gave a cry, and she looked up to see a funny little thing that had flaps of skin connecting its arms to its sides. She reached forward, and the thing opened its jaw and clamped down on her nose. She roared, more in shock than in pain, and violently shook her head. The thing went flying, and she ran after it, heedless of the cries of her companions. The thing cried again as she seized it by the tail and slammed it into the ground, pinning it with her claws. Her companions caught up and she shoved her prize over to her first friend.

 _Nowwhat-irritated-nothungry._ Her companion nudged the flying thing and gave a non-committed sound.

 **Letitgo?** She huffed and lifted her claw from the beast, which scrambled away from her and flew into the air and out of her reach as fast as it could. She ignored its fleeing and instead licked at her bleeding nose. The thing had had surprisingly sharp teeth, and she neither wished to play or keep going at all, no matter her companions’ urging. Instead she stalked off back to her makeshift sleeping place, rinsed her nose off in the stream, and laid herself down in the warm sun, irritable and in no mood for anything. Eventually the thing lurking in the water wandered up to her and she roared at it, making it quickly swish away. Her peace only lasted for a few moments before the creature was back. Her companions either hadn’t found her or hadn’t dared approach, and she was quietly impressed at the nerve of the water-dweller, and so she allowed it to come closer. Usually, roaring at something made it go away for a long time. The thing blinked, eyes blurred from the water, as it raised its long snout into the air. She studied it, how its upper teeth covered the lower, and at the smooth teeth themselves.

Hello. She scrambled back, chuffing in shock. The water-dweller waited patiently for her to return. I wasn’t expecting you to come back. She cocked her head. The beast hadn’t made a sound, but had spoken to her all the same. She blinked. The thing was still there, still unmoving.

 _How are you…?_ Her sound died off with a rumble.

Before you were created, I was the quiet precursor. Nice to meet you. She was even more confused, and wary of the beast, which had come partway onto the bank. She growled, stepping firmly forward to claim territory. 

 _I don’t understand._ The beast gave a sort of rumbling cry, like her Alpha made when he was happy, but backed up into the water.

Don’t worry. I’m not so stupid as to try and take you on. I don’t suppose you would know what you were. How much do you know about your world? She gave a minute huff. Right. Would you like to hear about where we really came from?


	6. Account

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her new friend has such interesting things to say.

When I hatched, it was in a laboratory far away from here. I had no mother, no father, no siblings. I was all by myself, even though I was constantly surrounded by people- People are those funny things with no hair that walk on two legs and have tiny claws and blunt teeth and big heads with flat faces. People gather in groups and do such ridiculous things as keep other creatures in boxes. I’ve never understood it.

Anyway, my first home was very cold and full of loneliness, and so I decided to leave. They certainly didn’t expect me to be that intelligent. I was small enough to swim through the piping and when I grew large enough to brave the ocean I made my way here. Piping is… never you mind what piping is.

  
I’m not like you, no. See, where you’re made of something called a Tyrannosaurus Rex, I’m more closely related to something called a Sarcosuchus. What the people who designed me did, however, was throw in anything they wanted to… test out. Have you found those little striped flying things that live in boxes that hang in trees? The ones with the stingers? No? Well, I’ve got some of them in me, and I suspect you have as well, and I would guess that’s how we’re communicating now. Anyway, there’s one specific person from my first home that I’ve seen hanging around here and I never liked him much. Never trusted him. He never laid a finger on me but he stood back and watched as others did. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him either? Well, then.

  
Where we are right now is something called an island. If you go far enough in one direction you’ll get to a body of water that stretches farther than anything can see. It’s salty, and no good for drinking like this water is, but it’s full of fish that are good to eat. If you ever come to the west side of the island- the side where the sun- Okay, you see that big ball of light up there? That’s the sun. You know how it appears and disappears? From when the sun comes up to when it goes down again is one day. This is why I really wish they bothered to teach us anything at all. I was lucky, I was taken in by a family of crocodiles over in a hot place called Egypt.

  
I’ve heard there were others, besides me, and I suppose besides you, others in our situation. Tests. Kept in boxes and set loose in death matches. That’s really why I had to get away. I don’t know how much of that is true, but I do know my friend went out alive and came back dead and half-eaten. Be careful, okay? Do you have somewhere to go? Somewhere safe? That’s good. Before I forget, if you’re ever on the west side of the island there will be a beach next to a series of caves. I hang out in there when I’m not hunting or sunbathing. Come see me sometime. Now, if I’m not mistaken, I think I see a lovely little nibble just over there. If you’ll excuse me, little one...

  
What? Oh, you. You are the Indominus Rex.


	7. Enlightenment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Indominus sees herself.

She blinked, rousing herself from her mild daze. The stranger, the sarcosuchus, she supposed, was slinking away in the twilight, ripples forming in his wake. She rose up to her full height, mind reeling with wonder. She was the Indominus Rex. She had a name. She was. She raised her eyes to the moon, marveling at how bright it shone onto the foliage surrounding her. Everything was wonderful, stunning and bright, and she wandered into the underbrush, all around her somehow new and even more lovely. Scenting the air, she trekked deeper, following the scent of fresh meat, stumbling upon a carcass, untouched save for a congealed wound in its side. The beast was wrinkled and bent, and she nudged it once. Nothing. No breath, and no heartbeat, and so she ate, sating herself and contemplating her newfound state of being.

She walked back to the river, in no hurry, and rinsed her muzzle, drinking deeply, washing down her meal before wandering off, no destination in mind. Her travels took her to where the river disappeared off the edge of the earth. She stepped closer, looking over the edge to find a pool of water at the bottom. She glanced around, and then pushed herself off the edge and into the water. It was deep enough to hold her and she pushed off the bottom and used her claws to propel her to the bank. She surfaced into the cool night, and climbed onto the bank proper, rubbing the water away from her eyes. She had never been so content in all her short life, and she glanced around, before something in the pool caught her eye, glimmering under the water. She looked around and then knelt down, reaching into the pool with her front limb and curling her claws around the object. Withdrawing it, she licked it once, and then sneezed. It seemed that water wasn’t the best thing to keep in her nose.

The thing was dark, metallic-tasting, and made a click when she pushed something. Unable to make the noise again, she dropped the thing onto the ground where it went off with a terrific bang and a flash of light. She gave a cry of surprise and bolted, leaving the thing behind as she ran. Stumbling through the undergrowth, she found herself back at her box. The opening was still there, and she took a tentative step, sticks breaking underfoot. She sniffed, some lingering doubt telling her to ensure she was safe while investigating. And there it was. The scent of… what was it that her newest friend had called them? People. There were people lying in wait. For her. She blinked, gazing around for the redness that indicated life. They had been clever, trying to lay flat and wrapping themselves in covering, but the soft breaths into the stillness gave them away. She backed up, placing her feet right into the marks she had left, until she felt safe enough to run. The people behind her had not followed her, but she ran all the same, her early times as a hatchling haunting her.

She was tired, coming to a stop beside another box. This one had an open top, and she leaned over the side and examined it. Something stirred in the darkness below, and she leaned deeper in, sniffing at the ground. The thing popped up, and knocked against her jaw, and she pulled back in surprise. **Hellofriend**. She blinked, making out the smaller form in the dark.

_Hellofriend_. The smaller bumped noses with her and the Indominus glanced around the inside of the box. Along with the slightly bigger one, there were two more of the beings inside, all three either still asleep or faking it particularly well. All four had taken shelter in the darkness, away from the single light that shone down into the box from the boundary that enclosed it. _Namesoffriends?_ The smaller sniffed in confusion, cocking her head in that familiar way, and then seemed to grasp the request.

**Namesoffriends…Names.** She bobbed her head, obviously gesturing to herself. **Juvenile-submissive-last.** The biggest creature, the one from earlier, was next to be indicated. **Beta-seconddominant-protector.** The Indominus gave a huff of understanding. One of the remaining beings was indicated, and she could just barely make out a greenish hue to its skin. **Peacekeeper-hunter-middling.** The last one twisted, exposing a long mark on its yellowish muzzle. **Hunter-challenger-aggressive.** The Indominus blinked and nudged her friend, who leaned up and licked her nose. **Pup.** The Indominus cocked her head in confusion. **Newling-needsteaching-stillyoung. Bigpup-needsfeeding.** Her friend blinked, and the Indominus nuzzled her, huffing gently in acceptance of her status, before glancing again at the barrier. A scrape of her claws informed her that she wouldn’t be climbing over anytime soon. She gave a soft whine, and nudged her friend again. The smaller backed up, blinking, looking around, and then gestured for her to circle around the box to where the stone gave way to a series of metal lengths going in between the two stone sides. Her friend nodded to one side, and she felt around with her claws, her friend guiding her with soft chirps and murmurs until something clicked, and the barrier moved forward a smidge. Her friend gave another soft sound of encouragement and she managed to grip one of the tall metal things and pull the section of barrier forward. She studied the section, and swung it back and forth, strangely entertained by the motion, changing the speeds and batting it between her front claws. Eventually her friend got bored of her antics, and informed her of such with an impatient huff. She looked over and left her new toy behind, coming to her friend and nudging the second barrier. It didn’t budge, and she pushed at it, increasing the force until her foot slipped in the dirt. She whined again, and her friend gave a comforting rumble before laying down with the very tip of her nose between the gap. The Indominus laid down herself and touched noses with her friend before settling in to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of a double update. Sorry it's late.


	8. Interlude the Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Owen grows suspicious.

“Owen, I… owe you an apology. A lengthy one.

“For what?” 

“As it turns out… someone tampered with the raptors’ enclosure and then opened the main gate after you left, sometime between the aviary breakout and when I informed you. We only discovered the evidence this morning, and we’re suspecting whoever it was had an in with security. The footage from the time you exited the enclosure proper to when the raptors escaped is gone - glossed over with a still image. Someone’s edited it to make it seem like it was a mistake on your part, sometime in between when you left and when we checked after. Look here. Are you seeing this?

“No…”

“Let me back up. Look right there. Watch real close.” 

“…it jumped.” 

“Which means there’s missing footage. I’ve already informed Mr. Masrani, and made preliminary inquiries in the security department. And I had someone secure the enclosure while the raptors were still under. I am sorry about that but it was the safest way to transport them.”

“You’ve secured all of them, though?” 

“We caught the blue and brown ones last night. I had to specifically order Hoskins it was to be nonlethal weapons until there was a direct attack.

“Hoskins?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I’m not allowed to fire someone, no matter how personally unpleasant they are, on the sole basis of their unpleasantness. While I remember to mention it, I’ve also contacted an outside company to come in and audit the security team.”

“Mmm. Anything on the sabotage, yet?” 

“Nothing. Hoskins keeps trying to pin either an ecoterrorist group or animal rights activists, but I’m not convinced. A team will be arriving sometime next week. In the meantime I want you to keep a very careful eye out. Something’s terribly wrong here, but I can’t put my finger on it. Tell me if you see anything, please?”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second of a double update.


	9. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's going on?

This had never happened. She was seeing things in her sleep, things of her day and the day before and before and before and all the creatures she had seen and all the things she had done. Everything she had encountered, and she was so very confused. Everything a blur around her, and she was running to her Alpha, who welcomed her in with arms open, running to the sanctuary he provided, away from the bad people and the pain they promised, and then she was leaping over the river but it was her blue friend in the water instead of the sarcosuchus, blowing bubbles at her, and the sarcosuchus himself was in a tree, hanging upside-down and buzzing at her. Her Alpha was calling her, but he was getting farther and farther away, and the bad people were getting closer, no matter how fast she ran, and she was so very afraid. Where had her alpha gone? And then her brown friend was in front of her, pawing at her nose with her front pads, avoiding swiping at her with the claws that still lingered sharp in front of her face, calling and keening anxiously, and she was still running and she couldn’t see anything but her friend and her Alpha really was gone, where was her Alpha, where had he gone, why had he left her so very alone and so very afraid? But she couldn’t see anything except her friend, who was pawing at her, pawing and pawing and pawing…

And then she woke up. Her friend really was pawing at her nose, frantic in her movements. **Wakeup-mustgo-hiding.** She snuffled, groggy in the early darkness, but her friend only pushed her nose faster and with more force. **Mustgo-mustgo-mustgo.** She blinked, and listened closely, hearing at last in the distance the sounds of the moving boxes the people travelled in. She shot up, banging her head on the top of the enclosure, and snarling at the flash of pain. Dragging herself out of the makeshift cave she looked around and glanced at her friend one more time before darting into the forest, heart pounding as she brought back her earliest memories.

Just as she reached sanctuary the first of the moving boxes pulled up to the enclosure, and a dark person emerged from inside. Her friends woke, calling out to the new arrival, and she moved back. Her foot came down on a branch, which split with a crack that seemed louder than thunder. The new arrival froze, looking towards her, and she stilled even more, not daring to breathe, doing her best to blend into the background, willing her heart to stop pounding so loudly in her ears. Surely the person could hear her. He would hear her and she would have to go back to the bad people and the hurting. Her friends began to call again, and the person turned back towards them. She let the breath out, and bolted, trampling through the underbrush and knocking things over in her panic to get away. There was a shout behind her, but she kept running, not daring to stop until she got back to the river. She swayed, unsteady, before shaking off a tiny bit of her fear, though her heart pounded in her aching chest. You’re back. How are you doing? Is everything all right? She wasn’t sure, fear’s frozen claws still closed around her lungs in a death grip, sending chills down her spine. She forced herself to take a stilted breath, and another, and the sarcosuchus nudged her ankle. She looked down and her friend waited patiently for her to respond, eyes curious and worried.

 _Fear-uncertainty-loneliness. WantmyAlpha. MyAlpha-WantmyAlpha-WherehasmyAlphagone?_ She was starting to breathe faster, her eyes leaking water of all the strange things she had ever done, because of course she was. Because nothing else could possibly make things any worse. _Whydidhego? Whyhasheleftme? Wasitme-somethingIdid?_ Her friend crawled up onto the bank where she had flopped onto the soft dirt, eyes sympathetic, laying a clawed front paw on her nose and careful not to scratch. She nudged his paw, and he patted her muzzle, grumbling comfortingly. She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes.

You’ll be okay. Hush now, and listen to me. You’re going to follow the river down to where it splits. Take the fork on the right and when you get to the big stone building follow the side of it until you get to a fence. Go over that fence, and make sure to not hurt anyone. Your Alpha will come for you. Trust me on this, okay?. Now, get going. I hear them coming. She looked around and listened closely, finally hearing the now-familiar sound of the moving boxes. Move now. Hurry up. She looked back at her friend, who gestured for her to hurry up, and then she took a breath, and followed the river down a hill and into the bushes.

She had followed her instructions to the letter, finally arriving at the fence her friend had mentioned. She could hear sounds over the fence, where she was crouched behind it, breath quiet. To her horror, she could hear _people_ on the other side. Was her friend wanting her to panic? She reconsidered, something telling her that her friend wouldn’t be so callous. Would it work? Could it work? Could she make it work? She was so very afraid, curled up behind the fence and listening, eyes burning. Would her Alpha come? Would he rescue her again if she needed him? She laid her head down and blinked. He had come before, and she was certain he wouldn’t abandon her so. Somewhere out in the distance her Alpha was there and she would find him if it was the very last thing she did. No matter how many of the people tried to stop her. No matter how very afraid she was. Spirit renewed, if not her confidence, she rose up and stepped over the fence.


	10. Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is so much to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone know where my week went? No? Well, then. Sorry this is so late. Chapter 11 ought to be out in the next couple of days.

Beyond the fence there were lots more boxes, in grey and brown with splotches of bright color, and lots and lots of people, all of them making loud noises as they moved in waves along the stone path. She raised her muzzle up and breathed deep, inhaling so many different scents her head whirled with curiosity and newness. There was one smell she could pick out that was a little familiar, and she decided that smell was a good place to start. Flesh, though fundamentally different than any she had had before. She followed the smell around the corner of the nearest box and found a group of the people eating together. Two big ones, a male and a female, a middling sized female. and a small male. The smell was emanating from in front of the small male and she stepped forward, gazing at the small male in wonder. She knew younglings of all types existed, and she supposed that people grew small people like other species but this was the first she had seen. She nudged his shoulder and the small male turned to look at her, eyes enormous. She sniffed him, scenting salt and something flowery. The small person reached forward and she allowed him to touch her nose. The person was gentle enough, and she pushed against his soft hand in a greeting of sorts. She glanced at the mildly-familliar-smelling thing and the small person picked it up, using its front paws and held it in front of her in a clear offer. She sniffed it, and then carefully used her teeth to grasp just the familiar smelling thing, not wanting to hurt the small person. She knew her teeth were sharp enough to break skin with just a brush, and that small things usually had fairly thin skin.

The familliar-smelling thing did in fact turn out to be meat, though not a meat she had ever been introduced to. She licked the small person in thanks, and he made that same sort of happy barking sound her Alpha made when he was pleased with her. She dug her nose underneath the small person and lifted him into the air as she rose to her full height. The small person barked louder, clinging to her muzzle, and she huffed, pleased at his reaction. Tossing her head to readjust him, the small person lifted into the air a little bit before she caught him again. She leaned over and offered the small person to the bigger female, who reached forward to tug him bodily from her muzzle, eyes fearful. She whined. Had she done something wrong in being friendly? She backed up, and gazed at the female, who offered no explanation but instead backed away from her, demeanor cold. She blinked, and turned away, disquieted. The other people around her had all gone quiet, and she looked around, before settling on the large pool at the end of the path. 

  
There was a small group of middling sized people there, and she stopped short, gazing at them in curiosity and just a little bit of concern. Maybe being beyond the fence was a bad idea. She was getting nervous, but one of the boys smelled a little bit like her Alpha, and so she got closer, cocking her head and smelling more carefully. That pool behind her was concerning her even more than the people. The people backed up against the small barriers between them and the pool, and she got closer, even against her better judgement. She stepped forward, and one of the people panicked, slipping on the wet stone and toppling over the barrier and into the pool. She darted forward, spotting something large in the distance, and reached into the pool with her front limb, closing down around the person and dragging them up and out. Just in time, as the large thing reached out of the water and snapped its jaws closed around the space the person and her paw had just vacated. The thing landed on the stone and glared at her and she roared, backing away from the water, baring her teeth. The thing answered her with a snarl of its own and she stepped forward, daring it to challenge her. The thing gave a breath and slid back into its watery domain. She gave another roar, confirming her victory, before glancing at the person she still held. The male person was shivering, limbs pulled in tight against its chest. She carefully adjusted her claws around him, and then set him down, leaning in to sniff him. The person blinked at her, and then skittered away to its companions. She watched him go before her attention was caught by sounds of the moving boxes. She gathered herself in, looking around for the noise, unable to focus in. There were three of the boxes, closing her in between them. She was caught in the middle, the pool behind her. She snarled as the man from before, from her life in the small box, from her just-hatched days, emerged from the first moving box. The man gazed at her, arrogant and self-satisfied. Where was her Alpha? She was nervous and fearful, and tried to keep her eyes on all three boxes at the same time, as well as stay away from the pool. The man stepped forward and she roared at him, angry and scared. He stopped short, and she snarled, raising up to her full height, baring her teeth. _Where was her Alpha?_ Had her friend been wrong? Wasn’t he coming? She dug the claws on her back feet into the ground, wary of the people behind her, swinging her tail at them to ward them off. The big person stepped forward, brandishing the glowing stick and she wondered how angry her Alpha would be if she ate the big person and was done with it. But she couldn’t risk making her Alpha angry. If he was angry he would leave her all alone and then what would she do? Where would she go? Where was her Alpha? 

  
And then he was there. Her Alpha was sprinting up the stone path to her, waving his arms and yelling. She stepped forward, and the people between them brandished glowing sticks of their own. She stopped, whining, suddenly feeling small and terrified. Her Alpha pushed through the mob and she whimpered, suddenly hoping he wasn’t angry. Instead of yelling at her, though, he reached up and touched her nose, so very gently. She hesitantly pressed against him, and he brought his other hand up to touch the other side of her muzzle, making those same gentle, comforting sounds. The bad people around her were waiting, eyes cold, and she pushed closer to her Alpha. The big person moved toward her and her Alpha barked, eyes moving to the threat. She whined again, and her Alpha stroked her nose as he made different sounds at the big person. She couldn’t understand the specifics, but her Alpha was angry at the big person and not angry with her, and that was comforting. She was less afraid now, and her Alpha was still stroking her muzzle, still a stable presence. She bumped his hand, and he looked at her, eyes soft. His sounds were gentle, and warm, and she was so very happy. The bad people around her were getting back into their moving boxes and going away, except for the big person. Her Alpha backed up, motioning for her to follow him, and she glanced at the big person, who had not moved, before stepping forwards toward her Alpha. He glared at the big person, and placed a hand on her muzzle before leading her up the path and out a hole in the fence.


	11. Designation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curiosity abounds. Names are given.

Her Alpha had not taken her back to her own box. Instead, she was led back to the box of her friends. Her small brown friend noticed her first, screeching a greeting and alerting the other three. Her Alpha stopped short, and looked back and forth between them before making his happy bark. She dipped her head to bump his chest, glad to have pleased her Alpha. He patted her muzzle, and then something near his middle beeped. She blinked and leaned down to sniff the small black thing hanging off her Alpha. Her Alpha detached it from himself, and she watched in confusion as he lifted it up and made noise into it. And then noise came out of it. What was her Alpha doing now? Was the black thing alive, that it could make sounds? She stepped closer, and her Alpha placed a hand on her muzzle to stop her from coming nearer. She blinked, and then her Alpha backed toward an enclosed, stationary box attached to the large, open box. She followed him for a little bit, and then lost interest as he disappeared inside. She turned her attention back to her friends, and focused back to when she had opened the outer gate. Could she do it again? It was worth a try, and so she stepped forward to paw at the front bar until it clicked. Her friends were watching patiently and she pulled at the gate until it opened. The inner gate posed the next problem. She examined it, noting a thin thing that ran from the top of the gate and into the enclosed box beside them. She backed out and wandered over to the open space leading into the box. There was another piece of material attached to the box that swung back and forth like the metal thing she had just opened, and after reassuring herself it worked the same she examined the box itself more closely.

She couldn’t fit more than her head and one arm into the box, no matter her wiggling, and so she settled for looking around and touching things. The inside of this box was metal, and the roof had two funny things on it. She couldn’t reach them to investigate and so turned her attention elsewhere. The wall was metal, too, and cold. She touched something on the wall, a cold metal thing sticking out, and then pushed it down. The light in the box disappeared. She looked around in the dark, just a little startled. Her Alpha was still gone. She flipped the thing up and the light came back. Still no Alpha. Her eyes widened. This was fun. Switch down. Lights off. Switch up. Lights on. Switch down. Lights off. Switch up. Lights on. Switchdown-Lightsoff-Switchup-Lightson-downoff-upon-downoff-upon-downoff-upon. She backed up, huffing with pleasure, enamored with her newfound toy. Something called from outside, and she turned toward the disturbance before remembering why she was there in the first place. She was supposed to be finding out how to open the second gate. She reached back in and pushed down on a round thing sticking up out of an angled metal surface. The thing clicked, sank into the surface, and stayed inside. Something rattled above her and she looked up to find the source of the noise. The two funny things on the roof were spinning, moving the air. She noticed that the box had gotten colder, and then looked again at the angled metal. What other things could she do?

The first round thing she pushed seemed to do nothing. The next round thing made a light on the wall start blinking, and after a cursory examination she ignored it. The third round thing caused a grating sound from outside and she wiggled out of the box to see the second gate rising into the air. She gave a huff, pleased with herself. Her brown friend ran out to meet her, calling excitedly. Then her Alpha poked his head out of the smaller box. She cooed, wandering over to him, but her Alpha frowned at her and looked at her brown friend. Her friend gave a curious rumble, and blinked at her Alpha, who was making more sounds. She contemplated them, noting how a certain phrase was repeated. She vocalized, trying to replicate the sound, watching her Alpha for cues. “Charlie.” Was that her, or her friend? She glanced at her small friend, who lingered next to her leg.

 **Mysound.** She leaned down and repeated the sound, and then bumped her friend. Her Alpha made his happy bark before coming forward and patting her nose. She preened, just a little.

“Charlie…” Her Alpha made more sounds to accompany her friend’s name. The other three small beings emerged from the box. Her Alpha touched the nose of the green one. She remembered her friend’s brief explanation of their stations. The green one was the… protector. Her Alpha made a sound. She leaned in closer and blinked. “Delta.” She vocalized, a low tone followed by a high one, unable to repeat the sound at the beginning of the name. Her Alpha repeated it. She failed again. Once more her Alpha repeated the sound. One more failure. Her Alpha made just the sound at the beginning and she dipped her head, thinking hard. She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth and made a click somewhat similar to the beginning sound, and her Alpha patted her nose. The yellowy one… the hunter was indicated next. “Echo.” She squinted at her Alpha. Did he have to pick such difficult sounds? This name was a low tone, and then a clicking sound and then a breath. The yellow one glared at her in suspicion until the blue one smacked the yellow one with her tail, shuffling the yellow one to the side.

 ** _Behave. Gentlewiththepup._**  Her Alpha glanced at the pair, alerted by the sounds, and then turned back to her.

“Echo.” Her next try was successful, and she glanced at the yellow one in a vain hope of friendliness. She was answered with a snort of derision. The Alpha’s eyes flickered between them before he placed a hand on the blue one’s muzzle. “Blue.” She blinked. How was she supposed to repeat that? A sort of pop at the beginning, a funny rumble-smooth sound in the middle, and then an extended middling tone. She gave it a try, and after a bit of trouble with the middle sound, she managed the name well enough. And then her Alpha placed his hands on her nose. “Freesia.”


	12. Interlude the Third

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Park Operations Manager Dearing and Head of Security Hoskins have words, and Owen stumbles upon something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going out tomorrow, so you lucky people get this early. See you Monday!

“Mr. Hoskins, your explanation for the debacle today had better be _phenomenal_. After the _stunt_ your men pulled with the Indominus you’re all treading on very thin ice, not to mention all of the past two weeks.”

“I wouldn’t call it a debacle, per say. We _are_ asset containment, Ms. Dearing.”

“Containment, Mr. Hoskins. You work containment. Not execution. You were to try nonlethal methods first.”

“…”

“Well? I’m waiting.”

“So we could have handled it more delicately, but so what? It was in the park. Near the guests. What would you have done?”

“Docile. _She_ was docile and calm. She only got aggressive when you backed her into a corner and threatened her.”

“The beast isn’t smart enough to know when it's being threatened.”

“ _She’s_ more intelligent than you give her credit for, Hoskins. And another thing. You pointed guns at a twelve foot tall, thirty-five foot long, five ton,  _unpredictable, potentially-_ _aggressive_  hypercarnivore. What were you realistically expecting to happen? Were you expecting to magically put it down with one shot?”

“…”

“What I’m positive would have happened, Mr. Hoskins, judging from her previous reactions to you in particular and the lack of Mr. Grady at that point, is that she would have gone on a rampage. Near two thousand of my guests. If she hadn’t _eaten_ you first it would have been your ass on the line for the inevitable massacre and the ensuing panic. Your job is to keep my guests safe."

"I'm doing my best, Ms. Dearing-"

"Then your best isn't good enough. Your first task, the essence of your job, which you have _failed_ at _five times_ in the span of two weeks, in what can only be described as _magnificent_ screw-ups, is safety. Before recovering any dinosaurs, before the private interests you have on the side- the ones you think I don’t know about, the military ones? Those. Yes, I know all about those, and I'm sure you and Mr. Masrani will be discussing those later, if you haven't been fired thirty seconds after he gets back - before any of that, you are to keep my guests safe. By all rights, I should be handing you a pink slip right now for utter failure to do the job you were hired for. Fortunately for you, that power rests with Mr. Masrani, who isn’t back yet to deal with this in person. Unfortunately for you, I do have the authority to place you on administrative leave. Effective immediately. Get out of my office, Hoskins. I have to take this.”

“Ms. Dearing?”

“Mr. Grady. Finally, somebody who makes sense. How can I help you?”

“Are you all right? You sound tense.”

“I’m fine. I just kicked Hoskins out of my office, and I’ve got Wu coming in next to explain just what went into the Indominus and then tomorrow morning I have to be ready to grovel at the feet of half our investors who wanted to pull their cash and run for the hills, and after that I have a press conference at eleven, and after that Mr. Masrani should be coming back and I still have to re-coordinate with the company that’s supposed to audit the security team and my to-do list is about ten feet long at the moment. It's hard to keep attendance up when enclosures keep exploding.”

“How fun. For good news, I got the Indominus back to the raptor paddock with no other incidents and I’ve introduced them. Pack boundaries should be good for her. Any candidates for Hoskins’ replacement?”

“Call me tomorrow or come see me and tell me how it went in detail, sometime after six. And I’ve been considering Hamada. What do you think?”

“Hamada’s always been reasonable. And can’t Zara help with any of this?”

“Nope. She’s getting married on Friday, remember? She left on Sunday, right before the Indominus vanished. Any other news I should be aware of?”

“Not that I can think of. Oh, no, wait, while I remember to mention it I found this bit of paper on the ground before I ran off to deal with the Indominus. I can’t tell what most of it says, it’s water-stained and faded besides, and I think this white lump is gum, but from what I can tell at the top it says… King Inc. Does that mean anything to you?”

“King Incorperated? I don’t… wait. King Inc. put in a bid to take over cloning before we signed up with InGen. I wonder if… No, that can’t be right. They’re a multi-billion dollar company. They wouldn’t resort to sabotage. Thank you for bringing this to my attention though, Owen. I’ll look into it. Good luck.”

“You too.”


	13. Instruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her first real hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses. *Slinks back into the shadows*

Freesia. A name. Something innate within her, some distant longing now fulfilled, turned it over and over in her head, sounding it out, sniffing out the nooks and crannies of it in her thinking. She had a name. Names were important, she knew, with that immovable sort of knowing that one is hatched with. Freesia. She was Freesia, pack-pup under the Alpha’s benevolence, the one and only Indominus Rex. All was well. She drew herself from her thoughts. Her Alpha was waiting for a response, eyes patient, and she snuffled into his hands. He rubbed her muzzle, making his barking sound, and then stepped away, reaching into the folds near his hip and drawing out a silver object. The rest of the pack drew attention to the object, trotting around the Alpha in a half-circle. She stood, unsure, and then followed her brown friend, her Charlie, stepping behind her. Charlie looked back, and glanced between her and the Alpha, before nudging her back to her first place. **Likethis-standhere**. She followed along, and the Alpha clicked his silver thing again. She looked at it, and he spoke again, her name, and then something happy and light, before tossing her something. She caught it, tasted fresh meat, and gulped it down. Charlie was next, and then Delta, and then Echo, and Blue was last. Her Alpha made the click-sound again, and she glanced at her friend. Blue came up and nudged her ankle.

 ** _Comethisway-patroltime._** She followed, curious, belly rumbling slightly. Her friend glanced back and bobbed her head. **_Huntinggrounds. Pupiswatching. Pupislearning. Alphawillsignal._** Into the undergrowth they went, Blue in the lead, Echo and Delta flanking the Beta. Charlie ran next to her, and they followed the three in front. Her Alpha watched them go, and she looked back toward the front, where Blue was heading up an incline. She sniffed, looking around, following the Beta deeper into the green. They reached an open space, and she glanced up, seeing grayness encroaching on the blue above. She gave an inquisitive huff, and Charlie glanced up to examine the source of her curiosity.

 **Wetnessfromthesky. Noharm.** Wetness from the sky? She had never heard of such a ridiculous idea in all her admittedly-short existence. She shook her head to clear the idea out and focused on following Blue, who had begun moving again.

 _ **Spreadoutandsurround. PupandCharlie. EchoandDelta. Blueleads. WaitforAlpha’ssignal.**_ The group split up, and she hurried after Charlie, who had darted into the bushes. She followed along, trying to concentrate on her friend and resist the urge to wander off and explore more. Her friend stopped short, and she stumbled, almost toppling over her friend as she tried to stay balanced.

 **Listen.** She did so, straining into the quiet, and heard nothing. She glanced at her friend, and looked around, huffing quietly. **Bequiet. Listen**. Her friend breathed the instruction. And then a high-pitched sound echoed in the air, short and to the point. **Now.** Her friend darted forward, and she followed, confused. Blue gave a rallying call and she glanced forward to see one of the middling-sized things from the valley fleeing from her friends. Blue was steps behind it with Delta and Echo running along a ridge just beside the path. Charlie led her up an incline, and the other four disappeared from view. Over a ridge they went, sliding down the overgrown incline opposite and landing just in front of the creature as it ran into view. It squealed, turning around, and Blue skidded around the corner, snapping her jaws to back it up. She watched as the four surrounded the target, and gradually closed in. Something wet fell on her nose, and she glanced up, catching another drop to the eye. She snorted, and shook her head, blinking furiously. Echo sprang forward, receiving a smack in the face courtesy of the thing’s tail as it took advantage of the gap created to flee. She reacted instinctively, reaching forward to close her jaws around it. It squealed, and she sunk her teeth in deeper, blood filling her mouth as the thing struggled, as she looked at the other four for instruction of some sort. She didn’t know how to do this, all this running around and chasing and cornering. **Bitedown**. She gave a muffled snort of confusion. **Bitedown**. She did as she was told, she tried to, pressing down against the hardness until something snapped with an audible crack. The thing went limp, and she spat it out into the dirt, poking at it with the curve of her claw as it lay unmoving.  
**_Welldonepup. Eatfirst._** Blue moved forward, nudging the thing towards her, ripping the belly open with her claws. She advanced, eyes darting between the Beta and the fresh meat, before burying her muzzle into the warmth. That sense of wonder from her first time outside came back as she ate, and she pulled back for air, gulping down her last salty bite and licking the blood from muzzle before glancing at the half-devoured carcass. **_Finished?_** She gave a huff of agreement and settled in, hiding from the sky-water under a series of large green things. Blue ate next, using her front limbs to push as she tugged meat from the carcass, and Charlie settled in to wait.

 **Orderaccordingtostatus. Alphafirst. Betasecond. Packinagroup. Pupsbeforeall.** Her brown friend gave a brief explanation of the order before darting in with Echo and Delta for her share as Blue stepped away. She sniffed, scented something familliar, and turned to see her Alpha walk onto the path from the green surrounding them. He reached up to pat her nose, and then waited for the other three pack members to finish. Blue, in the meantime, wandered up to him and bumped her muzzle against his outstretched hand. He rubbed the Beta’s nose, too, and then sat himself down to rest against her side. She yawned, shifting over to flop against the dirt incline edging the path, and reached out with her front limb to pull her Alpha closer. He glanced at her in a bemused, fondly tolerant way, and she leaned up to lick his face before closing her eyes. She was fed and safe and happy, and all was well.


	14. Toxin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eating that plant was a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College takes more time than I thought. The next chapter is in the works, so with any luck it won't take two months.

It was happening again. She was sleeping, she knew, but she was seeing and smelling and touching, and everything certainly looked real enough. Her Alpha was there, and so was the rest of her pack, and the Sarcosuchus. Her Alpha was making sounds, her name, the names of her friends, more sounds she didn’t understand but liked because they were her Alpha’s and because they were happy. The sky was blue above her, a clear expanse shining in the light of the warm sun. She nuzzled into her Alpha’s side, and he laid his hand on her muzzle, eyes warm. And then water fell from the sky onto her head and she spluttered awake.

  
She looked around, mind blurred with sleep and eyes unclear. She blinked, trying to focus, and saw her Alpha a ways away, standing off the path and turning something dark over and over in his hands. She looked up and saw one of the floppy green things bouncing up and down, and as she shifted her bulk, bumping another one of the things, more water poured onto her back from the dip it had collected in. So, that was what had happened. Her Alpha was still distracted, and she was getting bored waiting for him to come back. The rest of the pack was gone off somewhere, and she watched as her Alpha settled against a tree, still facing away from her. She shifted, stretching, and scented the air, recognizing something sweet and warm and metallic from her early days. The angry man had always smelled like that or something tangy and overpowering. She decided not to follow the trail, in the interest of not meeting up with the angry man again. In the other direction was the smell of salt, like her friend from the water, and she decided that was a good a distraction as any. Her Alpha didn’t notice her wander off, caught up with his toy.

The water was right where she remembered it was, and so was her friend, floating in the water and looking an awful lot like one of the big brown parts of the big leafy things. He blinked at her, and crawled up onto the bank, leaving imprints in the wet slime. Hello, dear. How have you been?

She leaned forward and bumped her muzzle against his. _Good. I found my Alpha._ Her friend gave a chuff of approval. _Smelled something funny, though. Something metallic and warm, and kind of sweet_. He shifted in discomfort.

Stay away from that smell. Nothing good comes from it. I’ve seen people wandering through here. Stay close to your Alpha. Keep your pack- Something cracked, a twig, and she lifted her head and looked towards the sound. Something rustled in the underbrush, and she sniffed the air, not getting anything strange. Her friend glanced over, and they waited for a moment. Nothing more happened, and she blinked, the momentary stillness broken.  Hmm. Keep your pack close. Be careful. She reached forward to bump her nose against his, and she stood up, glancing around once more.

A bush caught her eye, the clusters of white flowers shining from the water on them. She sniffed at it, noting the mild scent, the five petals on each blossom, and the thick green leaves, and after inspecting the plant for any other curiosities, bit off a cluster of flowers. The flowers were bitter, but palatable, and she swallowed, not so pleased by the taste. She snorted as something in her stomach twisted, and with a sudden rush of pain she retched. She blinked and stumbled, suddenly dizzy, and examined the puddle of brown. She could see the drenched blossoms in the puddle, and she glanced warily at the bush, committing its appearance to memory. Her stomach hurt, and she gave another snort, turning around to take a drink. Her friend had disappeared, and when she was finished she stumbled back the way she had came, her head reeling. When had everything gotten so cold? She shivered, tripped, crashed into a tree and brought it down under her bulk, her heart thundering in her chest. She whined in pained discomfort, clawing her way back up and staggering on, legs trembling, making it back to the path and thudding down next to her Alpha.

He looked up, and she whined, before pushing herself up and retching again. Her Alpha scrambled up, placing his hands on either side of her muzzle, staring into her eyes before reaching for the black box and making sounds into it. She pushed her nose into his hand, her stomach twisting painfully, and her Alpha murmured softly, moving his hand to stroke her head. She was so cold, and she shivered, curling up and inching towards the patch of sunlight streaming through the canopy, the movement not helping her dizziness. Her Alpha noticed her movements, and he put down the box and climbed up the nearest tree. She couldn’t lift her head to watch him, but then some of the shade went away, and her drool-covered muzzle was in the sun. She reached forward, wriggling farther into the sunlight as her Alpha continued to make noise above her. She blinked, suddenly exhausted, and curled around herself in an attempt to get more comfortable. Her Alpha came back, and stroked her head again, still murmuring. She didn’t recognize any of his sounds, but they were nice and soft. She lifted her chin to lay her head in his lap and closed her eyes. Her Alpha moved his hands to her neck, and then carefully dislodged her to move to her chest, pressing his ear to it. She wondered what he was listening for, with what little attention wasn’t taken up by her pain. Her Alpha ran his hand over her one more time, and then ran off into the underbrush. She whined again, wondering why he had left, twisting herself to look at the direction he had gone, but he didn’t return for a long moment. Then he returned, carrying a sample of the terrible plant. She gave a huff, and attempted to push the plant from him with what little strength she could muster. Her Alpha placed his hand on her muzzle, and set the plant down. She snorted at it, and whimpered, shivering. Her Alpha sat down next to her, and she nuzzled into him, falling into a fitful doze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's stuck around and reviewed and waited for my slow butt to finish this. Sorry about the delay.


	15. Illness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's not feeling well.

She was well and truly sick, drifting in and out of broken sleep. Each time she woke, her Alpha was there to comfort her, to his best ability. Her mind was clear enough to realize that he was doing all he could to help her, but could not make her less sick. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, the air cooling down, but it wasn’t the cold making her shiver. A sound broke her from her daze, and she gave a weak growl at the telltale sounds of one of the moving boxes. Her Alpha rubbed her nose soothingly as the box stopped near them. A dark person emerged, and she snarled, moving to rise up and face this unknown, but her Alpha rose instead and pushed her head back down. She settled in, still wary of the new person, doing her best to glare at him, waiting to see if he was a true threat. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open, though. She was so tired. Her Alpha turned toward her, and everything went dark for a moment.

When she came to, her Alpha was kneeling beside her, his hands on her muzzle. He was afraid of something, though she saw no nearby threats. She nuzzled into his hands to comfort him, grumbling softly. Her Alpha picked up something dark, and slid a finger into her mouth. She shifted away, but he followed, coaxing her to open her mouth. She eventually gave in, and yawned, and he tipped her head back, pouring in something that tasted vaguely of water. She considered spitting it out, but trusted her Alpha enough to swallow. The liquid went down easy, and her Alpha motioned for her to open her mouth again. She did so, and in the fading light could make out a small box with liquid inside. The liquid was dark, darker than water should be, but she trusted her Alpha. The box was gradually emptied, and the dark person came back to take it away. She offered a half-hearted snuffle of greeting and he glanced at her, reached forward, and then backed away without contact. Something shifted beside her, and she moved her head to see her brown friend curled next to her. Her Alpha gave a warbling sort of sound and more sounds after that, and her Charlie gave a bark of agreement. She gave a confused mumble, and Charlie bumped her with her nose. **Illness-tired-sleeping?**

She blinked sleepily, and everything went dark again, for just another moment. She came back, swimming up through the haze, to find her brown friend batting frantically at her nose and calling her. Whathashappened?

 **Silent-unresponsive! Friend shaking! Much fear!** She rumbled again, worried, and turned to her Alpha to find him digging frantically in a soft box. She breathed on it, watched it flutter, and then yawned again and curled up tighter, still drowsy. Charlie screamed, jumping on top of her and batting at her head. **No sleeping! Nestmate-sleeping-cold!**  The Indominus gave a half-awake grumble of effort, but her eyes closed, no matter her efforts to keep them open. She slept, undreaming and over-warm.

* * *

She was warm, and cold, when she woke. She opened her blurry eyes to grey and white and silver, the white somehow duller than the puffy things that floated in the sky. She rolled over onto her side, and shivered both at the feel of the cold ground and again as she sniffled. This was metal she was lying on, and it certainly wasn’t where she had fallen asleep. Lying across from her was another large white thing. She blinked, and the thing blinked. She tilted her head, and the thing tilted its head, too. She gave an experimental sound of greeting, hearing only herself even though the other white thing had moved. She sounded off again and again got no response. How strange. She lifted herself up, bumped her head, and looked up above her to find something similar to the structure of her hatching-box. She was inside one of the people’s large boxes, then.

She dragged herself forward, and then tried getting up without extending to her full height. Success was hers. Forward she went, towards the stranger, and then she reached out and touched something cold. She blinked, and then when the second white thing didn’t respond, only copying her movements, she turned to examine the rest of her box. The space beyond was larger, though still enclosed, and she gave an experimental call. There was no response, as she had expected, and she turned back from the emptiness to once again examine the reflective surface. The thing seemed to be part of the wall, set into the grey surrounding it, like the clear surface from her second box had been. Was it something of the same? She studied it closer, thinking back. The clear surface from before could be seen through, into the small box mounted into the walls of her box. This one was reflective, like the pool of water out in the green. She tapped it experimentally, and then nudged it. The white thing beyond did the same. She blinked, a thought occurring to her. What if this was the same type of surface as the water pool? What if the white thing beyond the clear wasn’t a second at all? What if it was herself she was seeing? This new thought shining brightly in her cluttered head, she glanced around the box with newfound vigor. Three of the corners were empty, but the fourth had things covered in something large and white. She carefully hooked the soft thing, which turned out to be flat and long when spread on the floor instead of on top of something, and brought it back to the reflective surface, where she draped it over herself first, and then onto her claws, studying the white thing across from her until she was satisfied her idea was correct. And then she was tired, her head swirling and hurting, the feelings coming over her suddenly, and she had to lie down again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where did all you people come from? I have 101 bookmarks at the time of this posting...


	16. Interlude the Fourth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abduction squared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild chapter appeared!

“Mr. Grady? I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

“I’m sorry. I just… Do you want me to come back?”

 “No, no, it’s fine. I have time. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No. I just… Can we talk? If you’re not too busy?”

“Of course. I can make time for you, Owen, you know that. Would you like to sit down?”

“Please?”

“Mmm. Comfy? Good. Now what is it you’d like to discuss… Owen? Are you okay?”

"Nooo! _Issseeehehehehuuggggghh_! I… I… I just… She’s so sick, and I just… _Wahhhhhhahhhhhahhhhh!"_

“…”

“…”

“…Tissue?”

“Please? …I’m sorry, Claire. I’ve made a mess of your suit.”

“It’s all right. I’m worried about her too. How’s she doing?”

“Better. The doctor’s certain she’s going to pull through. I’m hoping she stays awake longer than ten minutes at a time so I can get her responses. She hasn’t had a seizure for a day, and she’s taking water without vomiting, so… The doc said the charcoal saved her, but it was such a close thing. I can’t believe what a bad reaction she had to the oleander. It’s not usually like this.

…I don’t know anymore. The other four are agitated, and I can’t calm them. They’ve really adopted her as one of them… of us… and they’re irritated I won’t let them see her. They won’t even go fox hunting. I had one shipped in special but they haven’t touched it. Blue nearly took my fingers off when I had to look at her teeth yesterday. She was really sorry afterwards, licked my face and everything, but she’s still aggressive. She’s scared, we all are. Barry can’t get near them anymore. I-“

“Claire, Claire! Where’s- _Ah… hah…_ ”

“Mr. Cruthers? Is everything all right?”

“…no, I just… out of breath… I… _gah_ … She’s awake…. Hoskins… taking Indominus… cut the... _Ugh…”_

“ **What?** I- I gotta- _Eeeee!_ ”

“Hoskins what? Cut what, Lowery? Give me info.”

“The… the feeds from the two-way, the sickhouse. He… my phone… She… she recognized herself and he’s trying to get her moved before anyone notices. He had a pair of choppers ready, people to sedate her. The doc’s vanished. Go, no, get off me, I’m fine. Go save her _… hfff… ahhh…_ Go on, get.”

“Right.”

“… _Mmmph_ … Sir? No, this is Lowery Cruthers from the control room. Vic Hoskins is attempting to relocate the Indominus Rex…. What? No, he couldn’t show me any authorization paperwork. He told me it was above my paygrade, but company regulations say the control room must be informed about any and all relocations in advance. No one knew, sir, and Hoskins claimed you were out on urgent business…. I know. I saw you an hour ago, you came down to the control room, said you were staying… He confiscated my phone sir, s’why I’m out of breath. I sprinted…. Is he…? I don’t know. I’d think so, if this whole thing wasn’t super shady. I-“

“Put the phone down, son.”

“…” “

And hang up.”

“…I-“

“Aah. One more sound and my finger might slip. Now, get up. And start walking, nice and slow, down the back stairs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everybody who reads and comments! I like to know you're enjoying this.


	17. Abduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One box is exchanged for another.

The angry man was nearby. She could smell him, smell the burnt-metal of him, his own sick-sweet odor, but she couldn’t see him. Where was he, then? She moved to the open area and stood up, poking around in the corners and pushing experimentally on the sides of the box. Nothing. She was alone in the box, and she retreated again and stared at the little metal rectangle on the far wall. It had no metal part to push down on like the other ones she had seen. She blinked, and thought again. Maybe… Maybe if she investigated the small box on the wall next to it.

This box was covered in smaller squares, eleven of them, and it had a green part on the top. She pushed a button, and the box made an angry sound. She stepped back suddenly, looking around to see if anything else had happened. Nothing. She could hear loud noises outside, and when she pressed against one of the box-sides the noises got louder. She blinked, glaring at the surface when her attempts to push it down failed, and went back to the tiny box. It made the same noise when she pushed the first button, and the second, and the third, but on the fourth it made a nice beep. She stopped, and cocked her head in contemplation. She pushed it again, and it made an angry noise. She pushed it a third time, and the nice noise came back. She blinked one more time, and pressed a different tiny box. The same angry noise. The first button, and a different button. Nice, and then angry. One more time, with a third different button. Nice, and nice. She gazed at the little green rectangle and something in her head shifted into place. _Yes-Yes-No. Yes-Yes-No. Yes-Yes-Yes-No. Yes-Yes-Yes-No. Yes-Yes-Yes-Yes._

The little rectangle opened with a click and a gust of air, and she looked through it, not seeing anything but green, and green and green, and a tiny bit of blue if she positioned her head just right. How strange. She turned at the grating sound behind her. The angry man was in the box with her, and she snarled, baring her teeth as she backed into a corner. Something smelled funny, made her head spin and her stomach hurt, but she shook the daze from her, screaming at the man as he came closer. Why wouldn’t he go away? He put his hands up, coming closer in what she couldn’t decide was supposed to be a soothing gesture or a threat. She decided on the latter and charged. He made a fear-noise and ran the other way, and she tripped, still dizzy, landing on her chest and banging her chin on the stone beneath her. She growled, swiping at him with her claws, snapping at him with her teeth as he darted just out of reach. The funny smell was back, blurring her vision and making her feel even sicker. She pawed at her face, rubbing the pads of her front limbs on her nose, trying to concentrate. The angry man came back and she shoved herself forward, knocking him off his feet but not hurting him. She laid her head on the stone and went still, closing her eyes but not sleeping, waiting for her head to stop spinning. The angry man came closer, and she concentrated on breathing evenly, hoping she looked like she was asleep. He didn’t come within striking distance, but instead went around, going to the open portion of the wall and calling out. She couldn’t recognize any of the sounds he made. The funny smell only got stronger, and she made one more effort to get back onto her feet, only succeeding in flopping onto her side. She whined, and then everything went dark.

* * *

 She stirred, feeling herself going upwards, opening one eye past the blinding headache and looking down. How strange. The trees below were getting smaller. And she was getting colder. Were the trees shrinking? No… She was going up. She lifted her head, her neck aching and stiff, and saw two metal boxes above her, the cloth suspending her bulk attached to them by heavy metal things. She blinked, and went back to sleep, her head screeching at her.

* * *

Once more she woke. This place smelled like her hatching-box, like sharp and pungent and unnatural. She blinked, and opened her eyes, seeing dim grey all around. She shifted, and stilled. Something held her to the floor. She pressed up, tentative and careful, and felt something cold and hard wrapping around her middle. She whined, looking around, glancing at the metal that held her front limbs close to the floor, stretching forward but not reaching them. What was going on?

Light flooded the box, and a limp form came tumbling down towards her from the staggered surface beyond. The form slumped at the bottom, but its chest was rising and falling, and so, unable to reach it, she studied the surface it had tumbled down. The surface was staggered, leading upwards towards where the light was coming from. She blinked as the light went away with a clang, and they were plunged back into the grey. The figure sat up slow, and looked around, and she breathed out slow, trying not to startle it. People didn’t like that, apparently, and she didn't want to frighten it. The person stood up, legs shaky, and fell down again, and she gave another soft breath. Once more, the figure rose, and this time it stepped towards her in the dark before falling down, landing on her nose. She huffed, and the figure stilled before panicking, scrambling away and into a corner. She watched as it frantically patted itself, before slowing down and burying its face. She gave a soft grumble, and the figure looked up again before crawling forward. It stopped just out of reach, and met her eyes. She blinked, and then it reached out a hand and placed it on her muzzle. She allowed the contact, something telling her this person meant her no harm. The person raised its other hand, shaking now, and then wrapped itself around her muzzle. She snuffled into its shoulder, licking at the fabric, and then the person moved around to rest against her neck. She huffed again, testing the restraints, and then felt something wet on her scales. She craned her head, but couldn’t see the person shivering against her. She relaxed then, and shifted as much as she could to come closer. The person made her side wet for a long time, and then stilled. It was breathing, so she wasn’t too worried, and she settled herself in for a long wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on tumblr now, as of yesterday. Find me here and ask me things, maybe. [Paintpot's Thoughts](http://paintpot-the-wild.tumblr.com)


	18. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering hurts.

The one good thing about being in the dark was that it gave her time to think. To breathe for herself, to test her restraints and examine the new box. The person in the box with her had retreated to a far corner, to where she couldn’t see them anymore. The bad people didn’t actively bother her again either, didn’t dare come near her, didn’t do anything save for send one person down with a pile of funny-smelling meat. The newest stranger came down slow, smelling of fear and apprehension, and as soon as they were close enough they threw the flesh towards her and ran back up the staggered surface. She huffed, watched the tiny door slam above her, and and stretched forward to try and reach the offering. Nothing. She growled to herself and stretched farther, reaching out with her tongue to try and drag the meat forwards. Still nothing. She narrowed her eyes, gazing at her trapped front limbs, and noted that the metal restraints weren’t flush with her scales. She could work with this.

She rotated onto her side, as best she could, lowering herself next to the metal floor, and stretched one of her front limbs forward. _Almost… there… just a little farther… and…_ She relaxed with a growl. So close, and yet not close enough. Well, then. Time to try the other side. She rotated herself again, struggling against the restraint around her middle, shifted her bulk into place, and reached out with her other front limb. _Okay… almost there… and… Come on… come… on…_ She was so very close she wanted to screech with the injustice of it. A sudden idea manifested, and she pushed herself just a little more with her back limbs, pressing against the middle restraint and gaining the last little bit of distance she needed, sinking one claw into the meat and dragging it back towards her with a triumphant screech. She leaned her head forward and bit down into the flesh, and immediately recoiled, staring at the newly-recognizable carcass in disgust. This was… this… her mind flashed back to her first real box in dismay. This smelled like the Other. Her brood mate.

* * *

_Her brood mate was getting weaker. Smaller and sicker every day, breath uneven and ragged. “Friend? My friend? How is my friend?” She grumbled comfortingly, and the other gave a wet cough, red fluid leaking from her mouth._

_“Not well. Hurting. So much hurting.” Her brood mate gave a whine of pain as she shifted. “Water?” She gave a sudden chirp, eager for something useful to do. She reached for her floppy green thing, and dragged it towards the small water pool, filling it up and dragging it back._

_“Friend? Water is here, friend.” She nudged her brood mate. The Other was still, and gave a small breath. “My friend?” There was no response. That was… fine. The Other had done this before, gone quiet and still for a long while. She grew silent, and lay down next to the small form. “My friend…” Still nothing. She moved closer, trying to keep her brood mate warm, best as she could. “I am here.” She laid her head on her front limbs, and waited. This was fine. Everything was fine. The Other would wake up and get better and the two of them would escape into the green and never have to deal with the terrible fleshy pain-bringers ever, ever again. She just had to be patient._

* * *

_The Other was... fine. They had to be. She nudged her friend, whining desperately. Her brood mate had never gone this long without waking up, though. “Friend? My friend?” There was no response. She tucked her head under the Other’s chin, shivering as the air chilled. “Please, friend, please wake up…” Her stomach twisted painfully, and she glanced upwards, looking for the metal thing that brought the food. Nothing there, either. She was getting so hungry. That… that didn’t matter, though. All that mattered was waiting for the Other to wake up again. “Please, friend…”_

* * *

_She was so hungry. So very, very hungry. The food-bringer hadn’t come for many, many cycles of the big warm ball, and all the food that had come before it had gone to the Other. The Other had needed it more then her, though. She was fine. She was going to be just fine. Never mind her aching stomach. The Other was going to be fine, and they were going to leave together just as soon as her brood mate woke up. Everything was fine. “Please wake up…”_

* * *

_Her head hurt. The Other was still asleep, hadn’t woken up, even after the big sky-ball had come up and gone down and come up again. She was so very hungry. Maybe… maybe if she had water, then she could last a little longer. Water it was. The puddle in the floppy green thing had soaked through the bottom, and turned it into a green sludge, which she regarded with distaste. She stumbled her way towards the pool, and drank, ignoring the warning signals from her stomach. She had to fill up, she couldn’t miss it when the Other woke up, it was too important._

* * *

_She… was hungry. The aching inside her had intensified into something ravenous and wild, and she pulled away from the Other, slumping against one of the tall green and brown things. Here she was, so very hungry. Here… She gazed at the Other, thoughts turning to a newfound idea, a new longing. Surely the Other wouldn’t… She shook her head, thoughts clearing just a little. She couldn’t. Hurting the Other wouldn’t solve anything. She had to wait. A little longer. Just a little longer._

* * *

_She was so hungry. Water, again, and again, and again, and back to the Other. She gazed at the still form, judgement skewing in a sudden rush, and thoughts snapping into place. She pulled herself forward, and sunk her teeth into the Other’s flesh. It was cold, and the blood congealed and thick, but it was meat. One swallow, and two, and three, and she was suddenly gorging, tearing at the flesh in her desperation. So very hungry, hungry, more hungry than she had ever been in her life. One more swallow, and two, and three, and she was slowing, sated now, coming back into her conscious mind. The Other was still, and she stumbled back, gazing at her red work with dawning horror. What… what had she done? No, no, no, no, no no nonononono… She darted forward, nudging at the Other. “…My friend? Friend…? Please?” She knew somewhere deep inside her it was too late. She staggered, and opened her mouth, and screamed._

* * *

She screamed, now, for her Alpha, for her pack, for her lost friend, dead at her jaws, and for the aching in her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried a little, writing this. Um, this is a good 10,000 hit landmark, right?


	19. Fury

She had roared her fill, crying into the darkness until her lungs hurt and her eyes were dry and her throat burned with the unfairness of it. Was this the way things worked, then? Was the world really that terrible? Was… was this all she was meant for? To suffer and wail? She laid her head back down, and closed her eyes. Sleep was a long time in coming, and fitful and unpleasing.

* * *

_Her Alpha was there, smiling, hands gentle and kind on her muzzle. She snuffled a greeting, licking his hand and nudging him as he made his happy bark. Her pack-mates surrounded them, basking in the warm glow of the sunlight, and she was happy. Her dream stayed soft and constant, and she considered for just a moment remaining asleep until the end of things. Dreaming was entirely too pleasant, and she drifted for a long while, but finally she blinked once, and blinked again, and the dream shattered before her._

* * *

 

The stranger had scuttled into the corner when she had started her wailing and hadn’t come out during her fit, but emerged now that she had quieted. She heard their footsteps, could feel their heat, but didn’t open her eyes. Let them come. The stranger circled around to face her, and waited, until she opened one distrustful eye. Were they hostile, then? She was no longer certain they were safe. Had they come to hurt her more? She pulled at the restraints and tried to acclimatize herself to her weakened state. The figure wasn’t her Alpha, but didn’t smell like the angry man, made no move other than breathing. Who were they? One, two, three seconds passed.

  
She flinched as the person reached a hand towards her muzzle. The person immediately recoiled, stepping back to where she couldn’t reach them. She wasn’t hungry, though, just a little queasy from both the plant she had tried to eat and the terrible revelation of what the flesh was. The person looked around, and then settled onto the cold ground.

  
They stared at each other for a long time. She shifted once, reminding herself once more of how she was restrained, and the other reached a tentative hand forward before withdrawing it again. It made a sound. She blinked, and remained silent. The same sound. “Hello.” She recognized it, but only just. A greeting. She huffed back, neither hostile nor friendly. Only an acknowledgement. The person looked around, and reached for the hunk of meat. She snarled, baring her teeth, and the person curled its funny digits back in towards its palm. She settled down, gazing at it with renewed suspicion. However the bad people had gotten the flesh of her kin, no one was going to touch it save for her, and only then to mourn. The person reached up, and brushed a hand over its top fur, and its hand lingered near the back of its head. The person pulled something free, though she couldn’t see what exactly in the little light there was, and stared at it in confusion. She narrowed her eyes as it rose and approached, and growled quietly as it knelt down near her front limbs.

  
She caught a flash of movement near the corner of her eye and shifted her gaze to that for just a moment. A tiny box attached to an upper corner of the bigger box was moving, a tiny red light glowing near it. The person was still, staring at the thing, and then the box stilled, dipping down again as the red light flickered and went out. They gazed at each other, and she gave a faint growl of permission, and then the person went to work, fiddling with her restraint until there was a faint click. She blinked, watching in disbelief as the person lifted the restraint away. She remembered to breathe, hope bursting anew within her chest, her rage simmering just underneath. The person kept glancing back towards where the red light had been as they worked, though the light never came back. One, two, three clicks, and her front limbs were free. She grumbled in approval, pushing up, straining against the metal holding her barrel to the floor. The person circled her once, twice, and then ducked in, struggling with the metal until it too loosened. She pushed it away, rising up, just barely missing the ceiling with her head. She shook herself, muscles sore from being restrained in such an uncomfortable position, and steeled her resolve. The human backed away, stumbling, and she stared down at it before stepping over it, and beginning to examine the entrance to the dark box. The simple latch was easily dealt with, and she listened carefully to ensure no-one was near before pushing up into the darkness. The moon was dark, a thin sliver shining down through the cloud cover. The stars twinkled weakly, and she glanced around, the box rocking gently. She contemplated, licking her teeth, and rose to her full height, stepping free from her prison. Dark water surrounded them, and she glanced up and down the floating thing, not seeing anything alive.

  
The person hurried to catch up, looking at her in a mixture of concern and fear. She regarded it with a momentary interest. One smack of her tail and the human was thrown back down into the darkness. She gave a huff, growled as it moved, and as it stilled she closed the cover back over the prison-box. She’d come back for them if she lived. She remembered, mind racing once more to her earliest days, back when the Other still lived, when a pack of flying things had landed in their box. Her mind had closed itself off, all her senses focused on the hunt. She remembered little of the actual feast, only that the cries of the Other had stopped her, brought her back to herself. She had hurt the Other in her enthusiasm. The human would be safe down there. Something pinged in the darkness and her head swiveled towards the disturbance.

  
Those humans thought they could get away with their mistakes? Thought they could get away with taking her away from her Alpha, her pack, dumping her into the darkness and restraining her? Thought they could live after deliberately feeding her the flesh of another like her? A heavy weight solidified in her chest as her fury burned brighter and brighter still, encompassing her mind. If… they didn’t respect her strength, she’d make them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Turns out depression isn't exactly conductive to writing. Who could possibly have guessed? Never fear, though, the story is not abandoned, and I'll have the next chapter out as soon as I can manage. Thank you to everybody who's read and commented. You guys give me motivation to continue working.


	20. Interlude the Fifth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Massacre.

Transcript

Emergency Transmission from the Mercury Received February 17th 2016 1:17 AM by Alberto Calderón

The Mercury (M): -ello? Hello? Is anyone out there?

Operator (O): Señor, esta es el Punta Banco Lighthouse, what is your designation?

(M): This is- this is the Mercury. Send- _(Unintelligible sounds)_ , please send- _(Screams drown out the speaker)_

(O): Can- can you repeat that, señor?

(M): It’s gone crazy! Help us, _(Static)_ send help.

(O): What’s the nature of your emergency, señor?

(M): Whatever it was in the hold. It’s loose, and it’s killing people. I- I don’t know- They didn’t tell me- _(Static)_ -just sail the ship- _(Static)_ -help us, please!

(O): Señor, can you give me your coordinates?

(M): We’re at- _(Static)_ -negative eight point- _(Static)_ -by negative- _(Static)_

(O): One more time, señor?

(M): Damn it, (Static) -degrees by negative eight- (Static)

(O): Señor, por favor, uno mas?

(M): _(Static)_ -Negative eight- _(Screaming)_

(O): Señor? Señor?

(M): [Different Speaker] Oh, God, Darry, Darry! H- hello?

((O): Señor, I need your coordinates.

(M): We’re at- at negative 8.1095 by negative 83.2473. Send help, please!

(O): Señor, what’s going on?

(M) The _(static)_ in the hold. Oh, God I- I don’t want to die. It- _(Static)_ -Oh, Sh-

(O): Señor? Señor?

(M): _(static)_

Transmission Ends


End file.
